Jaded Eyes
by Lilia Lockheart
Summary: He found them enchanting. He found himself lost inside the green sea whenever she looked directly at him. He found them beautifully jaded. Age-swap AU.
1. Part I

A/N: This was meant to be a one-shot. But it started getting really long as I was writing it, so I decided to make it a two-shot.

* * *

 _ **Jaded Eyes**_

[ Part I ]

* * *

He never took his eyes off of her. The petal-pink strands danced around his eyes as she moved gracefully about the room. He slumped against the propped-up mattress.

His shoulder was killing him.

"Now, now, Kakashi-kun..." She stepped over to where he was sitting and plopped herself down on the chair next to him. "You have to be more careful during missions."

He knew he shouldn't, but he found absolute pleasure in seeing the frown on her face.

"It's nothing you can't fix, Sakura-sensei," he said with a smile. But it's not as though she could see it, more than half of his face was covered by that navy-blue mask.

The frown didn't leave her face. "You can't expect me to be able to fix you up every single time. What if I'm not in the day you come back? Or what if—" she suddenly stopped healing him, the green chakra flickering rapidly before it died out, "—what if you don't make it back...?"

The words were barely above a whisper, but Kakashi heard them loud and clear. Sakura's green eyes peered at him. The concern and worry swirled evidently in those eyes that haunted him almost every night. He found them enchanting. He found himself lost inside the green sea whenever she looked directly at him.

He found them beautifully jaded.

The pink-haired medic was a ball of energy. She was the light that radiated upon Kakashi and all the other patients that come in and out of the hospital. Everything about her was tantalizing. But it wasn't the peculiar color of her hair or the byakugō seal on her forehead that held Kakashi's attention. Nor was it her long legs or the shapely form of her figure that drew the boy in (although, those things were added to the list of reasons why he was so enamored by her).

No.

It had been those sad emerald eyes of hers that made him fall deep. One look and he could tell that she _understood_. She understood what pain was. She understood what came with being a shinobi. She understood what loss was. One look into her eyes and Kakashi could tell of all the things she endured and all the people she had lost.

She was still young, a woman of twenty-six, but her jaded eyes told that she might as well had been much older.

Sakura eventually finished healing him, sending him off with a smile and reminder of his monthly check-up next week. Kakashi didn't leave right away. Instead, he chose to roll his shoulder around, testing its condition (though he knew Sakura did an excellent job of healing him as always). He took this time to watch her as she filled out a couple of things on her chart.

He would never admit it, but he would sometimes allow the enemy to get a 'lucky shot' in just so he would have an excuse to see her. Of course, he wasn't inane enough to ever let them gravely injure him. Just enough to require medical attention from his favorite medic.

"You're still here?" Sakura turned in her chair to face him, eyebrow raised in question. Kakashi didn't realize he stayed longer than he had intended.

He shrugged. "Just checking to see if you did a good job, sensei."

"Ohhhh..?" Sakura cooed dangerously. She rose from her chair. Her eyes narrowed as she walked towards him, hands in her white coat. "So you don't think much of my abilities, huh?"

Before he could retort, she had her hands on both sides of his face. Normally, he would be ecstatic that his sensei was standing so close to him. But the way she was looming over him as he coward against the medicine cabinet had his heart racing in a way that he did not like.

"Owowowow!" He tried to pull away at the woman currently pinching his cheeks.

"Cheeky brat!" She scolded.

"Ow—sensei, let go!" He grabbed her wrists and pried her hands away. Kakashi rubbed his stinging cheeks and shot a glare at the woman laughing in front of him.

 _Damn her and her cute laugh._

"Get out of here, Kakashi-kun. I still have other patients to see." She waved a dismissive hand while she walked back to her desk.

He didn't have to be told twice. Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke before his cheeks fell victim to the absurd torture again.

He stood on the roof of the hospital, looking down at the streets below.

"Tch. Wait 'til I get a little taller."

* * *

When Kakashi was 17, he thought about owning a cat.

Of course, he wasn't a cat person. Pakkun and the rest of the pack were the closest thing to 'pets' he could have. The idea of owning a meowing furry, devious creature was not something he wanted or thought about unless he was dying.

So why not? It was the best time to think about strange things that would never happen as he laid there on the snow-covered ground, breathing shallow breaths and slowly succumbing to the cold.

The sensation of a cat poking his face with a padded paw could probably be compared to the snow that was currently falling onto his face. It was rough and it stung as the white snowflakes landed on his singed skin. His cat would probably claw off his mask and face if it could. Then he shudder, not from the freezing cold wind whipping against his bleeding body but from a memory of Tora, Madam Shijimi's cat, almost tearing apart his face when he and his teammates tried to catch it.

 _Damn. I hate cats._

The good thing about lying half-dead in the snow was that one couldn't really feel their limbs. Kakashi knew if he could, he'd probably be in a lot of pain right now. He imagined Sakura scolding him once again about having to be more careful. He chuckled, coughing up a little blood as he did.

 _She wouldn't have to worry about that anymore..._

Death really liked to torture him. It came slow, almost painfully so. But he was thankful for having time to think about his favorite sensei. He regretted never telling her how much she had mean to him. He regretted never asking her out on a date—something Kakashi Hatake _never_ did, but for her he would make an exception. He regretted never having a taste of her.

He decided to stop the direction his thoughts were heading in. Kakashi was sure that if his body was ever found, he didn't want the ones to find it to look at the bulge in his pants. No, that would not have been appropriate at all.

Yep. Death really did like to torture him.

 _"Kakashi!"_

He couldn't make out who was calling him, or if anyone was calling him at all. His eyes stopped cooperating with his brain. Sleep—or was it death?—was getting to him.

 _It wouldn't be so bad, right? Just gonna take a little nap—_

"Kakashi!"

A hand fell onto his chest. Something soft was hitting his face and neck. He wanted to see who was preventing him from sleeping, but to his dismay, he couldn't move.

"Shit. He's not responding. His heartbeat's very faint. Hypothermia's already kicked in." It was such a pretty voice.

"Should we bring him back to the campsite?" A rougher voice asked.

Kakashi tried to recognize whom the voice belonged to, but he was just too tired to think.

"I have to..." He couldn't make out the rest of the words. He was losing focus fast.

Something hard hit him on the head.

"I need you to stay awake, Kakashi. Stay with me."

He knew it was best to listen to that soft voice. But he just couldn't help it.

The last thing he felt was rain, somehow hitting only his face, and something warming up his chest.

...

He jolted awake. The pain in his body was suddenly too much, causing him to let out a groan.

"Careful." Immediately, two hands shot out to hold him down wen he tried to get up.

He widened his eyes when he caught a glimpse of green in the darkness.

"Sakura-sensei..?" He managed to choke out. Ah, his throat had been repaired.

"You idiot." She hit him lightly on the head. Despite her holding back—by a shit ton, he realized—it still hurt.

She apologized when he winced. "Ah! Sorry, Kakashi! I healed the bump that formed when Naruto hit you, but I should've known the spot would still be tender."

Naruto-sensei, huh? Kakashi knew the fist that pelted his head prior to him passing out felt familiar. He was gonna have to ask his whiskered-mentor to... _spar_ with him later on.

He looked around with his lone dark eye, his left eye closed to hide the sharingan his late friend had given him. They were inside a cave, a small fire had been burning to keep their bodies warm. Packs of medicine and bandages were scattered around. Kakashi realized that Sakura had been doing her best to keep him alive.

He looked at the woman kneeling next to him. Now that he had adjusted his vision to the darkness, he could very well make out her facial features. There were dark circles around her eyes and specks of blood—oh _shit_ , his blood—covered her jaw and uniform. The once white medic skirt was now painted half red. Kakashi frowned. He had ruined such a pretty color on her.

As if she had read his thoughts, she told him, "I can always wash them, you know."

"They're badly stained," he stated.

"Bleach works wonders," she hummed.

"With blood."

"That comes off too."

"Sensei. That's _my_ blood."

Sakura didn't say anything to that. She continued to stare at the fire in front of them. Sensing that he might have said something wrong, he began to sit up. He fought off the green-eyed medic's protests, and managed to pull himself halfway up until his body was starting to fight him.

"Nhgn..!"

Sighing to himself, he gave up and laid back down, ignoring the smirk on Sakura's face.

"I told you," she practically sang.

"Shut up, sensei." He didn't like her habit of teasing him whenever she was right. It made him feel like a kid again.

"That's no way to talk to your elders, Kakashi- _kun_." As if to mock him further, she emphasized the suffix attached to his name.

He scoffed, "You're only fourteen years older than me."

"Fourteen is a lot. I'm already thirty-one." She touched her face, checking for wrinkles and blemishes he knew were non-existent.

"You're still young."

"I can't say I'm still as youthful as I was fourteen years ago."

"Lee-senpai would beg to differ," Kakashi said with a roll of his eye. The green jumpsuit-clad man was still calling his sensei embarrassing nicknames and gave her cringe-worthy compliments. He wouldn't pay mind to Lee if Sakura hadn't smiled every time the former came bearing flowers.

She chuckled, "He doesn't count. I'd still be his 'Youthful Cherry Blossom' when I'm fifty."

 _His_. Kakashi cringed. Before he could stop himself, the words had already tumbled out.

"You're _not_ his."

Sakura visibly stiffened next to him. If he could move his muscles without any pain, he would be bashing his head on the rock-hard wall.

"Whose am I, then, Kakashi?"

She regarded him out of the corner of her eyes, waiting for his response and reaction.

"Team 7's, of course."

Kakashi didn't know what to do. He could have taken the chance and took the initiative to take their relationship one level further. But after seeing her tense up, he was afraid of saying something to push her away and cause their friendship to curdle.

And he wasn't sure if he could stand having her push him away.

"Mmm... Team 7's, huh?" She mumbled almost disappointedly (was she disappointed or was that him hoping?).

He repressed the urge to sigh. He must be a bigger idiot than Naruto.

She smiled down at him. "I'm not sure if that's a good thing. You, Naruto and Yamato are a troublesome bunch."

"No one can handle us better than you can." And he smiled. Genuinely smiled. He gave his signature eye crinkle, hoping to let her know what she couldn't see under his mask.

What he didn't know was that Sakura saw everything.

Kakashi furrowed his silver eyebrows when she continued to stare at him, a pink tint was now staining her cheeks.

"Sensei?"

She blinked as though she just remembered where she was. She ruffled his silver mane and leaned closer to his face. Kakashi willed his blood not to rush to his cheeks when she was close enough for him to see her green eyes clearly.

"Well, one good thing did come from this."

"And what's that?" He didn't know how to react when her lips curved up into a wry smile.

He lost all coherency when she ran her fingers along his jawline—his _naked_ jawline—and paused on the exact spot where he knew his beauty mark was. She said nothing as she pressed her finger into his recently-healed flesh. When she pulled away, he could see her green eyes filled with amusement.

Kakashi decided to close his eyes and fall into a _much needed_ sleep.

* * *

On Sakura's thirty-fifth birthday, Kakashi found her shit-faced along with a louder-than-usual Naruto.

He had been walking through the town, looking for the perfect present to give his pink-haired sensei when he heard her name.

"Sakura-san!"

Kakashi turned his head just in time to see Lee fly out the door of a bar. One silver brow lifted up in curiosity—and maybe also in amusement. He walked closer to the scene of the disturbance.

What greeted him was the sight of his blond sensei rubbing Sakura's shoulders while she—arm wrestled?—a much larger man than herself. He did a double take at the surreal scene in front of him. Kakashi recognized the man sitting across from Sakura as Chōji from the Akimichi clan. The silver-haired man sweat-dropped when Sakura spewed some colorful words to her opponent. How she didn't flinch when Chōji seemed to grow twice his original size amazed Kakashi.

"You're going down, pinky!"

"Pinky? Great idea! I could wrestle you with only my pinky!"

Kakashi smacked a hand to his forehead. She was asking for all sorts of trouble tonight.

"Maa...Sakura-chan," Naruto began, visibly worried and slightly flushed in the face, "Maybe that's not a good idea."

"Shut up, Naruto." She rolled her eyes, oblivious to the nods of agreement around her.

"But, Sak—"

He 'eeped!' when the pink-haired woman grabbed him by the collar and dragged him down, their noses touching.

"Listen here, you—" she stopped, and her eyes widened when she realized the close distance between their faces. If Kakashi thought Naruto's face was flushed before, it was nothing compared to now.

Kakashi's stomach churned. He couldn't watch anymore of it and decided to stroll over to where his two sensei were close-to-but-not-quite-yet lip-locking. He arrived as fast as possible, pulling Naruto back and putting himself between the two. Sakura, needing a moment to figure out what exactly happened, blinked.

Kakashi sighed. He wasn't oblivious to his mentor's feelings for the pink-haired kunoichi, nor was he oblivious to their close relationship and how they seemed to disappear together on a certain day every year (although, this was more related to the fact that they mourned their teammate's death, a fact he found out from Ino-san). But if he could, he placed himself in between them at every chance he could get. He knew he was being selfish and greedy and not at all fair towards Naruto, but he just couldn't stand any man getting near the woman he loved.

 _Fuck_...

Kakashi inwardly groaned. He never admitted it, choosing to say that it was a mere infatuation he had for the green-eyed woman. It was _much_ easier to say that it was a crush than saying he was falling in love with someone he had no chance with.

Well, damn. That took a depressing turn.

"Kaka-kun?" Sakura looked up at him.

 _Kaka-kun?_

"Maa... Happy birthday, Sakura-sensei." He crinkled his eye in a smile.

"Ah, thank you. But what are you—"

"Are we gonna talk all day or are you ready to rumble?!"

She turned once more to her—now normal-sized—opponent. All prior thoughts forgotten, she settled her arm—and thankfully _not_ her pinky—on the table once again, a huge grin spread across her face.

"Bring it, Akimichi!"

Cheers began as the two started their delayed match. Kakashi's grip on Naruto slackened and the blond took the chance to hover over the table, refereeing the match.

Kakashi could see that she wasn't using any chakra. _The match would've been over far too quick, probably_. He was impressed that she could still hold her own against the giant man. When the tides were shifting in Chōji's favor, she knew she was in trouble.

"Ah!" Sakura gasped suddenly.

"Hmmmm?" Chōji, eyes locked onto her thinking expression. "What?"

In a voice too low for normal ears to hear, "I just remembered there was an all-you-can-eat—"

"ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT?!"

Sakura, seeing that his focus was ruined, seized the chance to slam his hand onto the table. The wooden furniture collapsed into pieces, prompting the crowd to go wild and Chōji to break out of his daydreams. Kakashi chuckled to himself.

"Hey! You cheated!" He pointed at the whooping woman.

"Ara? I don't know what you're talking about, Chōji-kun." She brought a hand up to cover her mouth, eyes wide in false surprise.

"You know what! You started saying—"

"Oh, I do seem to remember seeing an 'all-you-can-eat' sign on 'Jungo's BBQ' earlier." Kakashi rubbed his chin in thought.

Moments seemed to pass before the brown-haired man stood up and cleared his throat.

"Say no more. If you need me, you all know where to find me." With a puff, Chōji disappeared.

"Eh? Where did he go?" Naruto looked around.

Sakura caught Kakashi's eyes. The two continued to gaze at each other in silence before bursting into laughs.

"Ehhh? What's so funny?"

Sakura just seemed to laugh harder at Naruto's pout.

"Next round's on me, boys!" Sakura wrapped an arm around both Kakashi and Naruto as they tried to steady her.

"You sure you want more to drink, sensei?" Kakashi asked her, trying to hide the twinge of worry in his voice.

She looked at him with glazed orbs.

"The night's still young, Kaka-kun."

Kakashi decided he actually really liked his new nickname.

...

One round turned into two. And two turned into six.

The silver-haired jōnin sighed as he watched both his sensei laugh over something he couldn't quite comprehend. He swirled the liquid contents of his cup around. He had been nursing his drink all night, knowing better than to drink recklessly.

His two sensei were the perfect example of what _not_ to do.

"Ne, Kakashi..." Naruto began.

 _Oh no..._

"Why aren't you drinking?" The blond narrowed his eyes.

"I'm afraid I don't mix well with alcohol, Naruto-sensei."

Naruto snorted. Of course he didn't believe that. If his silver-haired student was capable of downing and surviving poison—something Sakura vehemently scolded him for—then what's a few alcoholic drinks?

He didn't press him on the matter for the rest of the night. Kakashi wondered why he had accepted his sensei's invitation to drink when he could've been home reading a new book he recently purchased. But one look at the pink-haired woman and he wondered why he _wouldn't_ choose to stay.

As it neared two in the morning, Kakashi knew he had to stop these two from probable alcohol poisoning.

"I think it's time to go home, sensei." Kakashi waved over the bartender, signaling for the check.

He didn't miss the way she winked at him and sashayed away, an extra 'oomph' in the way her hips were moving from before. He wasn't surprised when she returned with the bill, only half the amount of what should have been written on the paper.

He stopped Sakura from pulling out her wallet, and handed over a black card. He also wasn't surprised to find a ten-digit number written at the bottom of his receipt in neat penmanship. He pocketed the paper, having no intention on contacting the woman but also not wanting to be rude.

He glanced over at Sakura only to find her slumped against Naruto, the latter already drooling from sleep. Kakashi suppressed the urge to groan. There was no way he could carry both of them. He wasn't sure how he would—

"Guy!"

Never would he thought the day would come when he would voluntarily and happily call out to the _other_ green jumpsuit-cladded ninja. He was the exact replica of his sensei.

Guy's eyes brightened up when he saw who had called out to him.

"Kakashi! My eternal and slightly-less-good-looking-than-me rival!"

"Guy, I need you to do something." He tried to cut to the chase.

"Well, well, well... Never thought I'd see the day where you needed a favor from me," the black-haired man taunted as he crossed his arms across his chest.

"It's not a favor," Kakashi bit back a few words before they could slip.

"If not a favor, then I don't know what asking something of someone is called."

"It's a competition," the silver-haired man said quicker than he could think.

He begun to regret saying that when he saw the light shining in Guy's eyes.

"A competition, you say?! Well then, who am I to deny my handsome rival the buoyant act of bonding with—"

"We're running out of time here," Kakashi interrupted.

"Right. Go on."

"Each of us are gonna carry one person and take them home. We have to make sure they're hydrated, clean and tucked into bed safely. The first person to finish wins." Kakashi nudged Guy to take Naruto's slumping form. He sure wasn't gonna hand him Sakura.

"I have questions." His green rival shot a look at the slumping sensei on his arm before looking at Kakashi.

"What?"

"You said 'clean.' Am I supposed to bathe him in all his glory?"

If Kakashi didn't know better, he would've said that Guy was hesitating.

"Yes."

"Oh."

A moment of silence passed before Guy managed to open his mouth again. Kakashi stifled the urge to laugh.

"But—"

"No, I'm kidding. You just have to make sure his face is washed and his shoes are off at the door before putting him to sleep." Kakashi shrugged. As much as Guy badgered him, he wasn't going to torment his rival. He didn't want to scar Guy for the rest of his life.

"Oh! That's doable, then!" Guy beamed in relief. "But I have one more question. How do we know which person is the winner?"

Kakashi ran a hand through his silver hair. "Um, once we finish, we'll go to the Hokage Rock. If we don't see the other person there by two, then that person wins." Honestly, he wasn't sure if he was going to even head to the Rock afterwards. Kakashi knew that Guy was going to give his all and beat the clock. He was sure gonna be too tired to deal with Guy's bragging.

He also wanted to take his time taking the pink-haired kunoichi home.

When everything was established, Guy dashed off with a green-faced Naruto on his back. Kakashi didn't know who to feel more sorry for.

"I don't condone tricking fellow shinobi into doing your chores."

Sakura muttered under her breath. He had picked her up and placed her in the same manner that Guy did to Naruto. Kakashi thought she was passed out the entire time.

"Are you saying you're a chore, Sakura-sensei?" He chuckled.

"Idiot. That's not it..." She didn't say anything else. Instead, she chose to lean her head on the back of his neck and closed her eyes.

He could feel her steady breaths tickling his skin as he walked. He didn't want to make her sick by running.

"You should've let me pay," she said when they neared her apartment.

"It wasn't a big deal. Consider it my present." He wasn't able to find her a gift earlier, but he was planning on giving it to her late anyway. He had always been the last one to give her a gift. It played in his favor cause his would be the last thing on her mind.

Sakura scoffed. "Only because the bartender took a liking to you and halved our bill. You would've bailed if she hadn't done that."

Ah. So she _had_ seen it.

"Which floor?" He asked her.

"Third. She was cute, wasn't she?"

"Hmm."

"You should call her. I'm glad you weren't an asshole and threw out the receipt right then," she laughed.

For a drunk woman, Sakura was pretty aware of her surroundings. Just how much did she see?

"Key?" He placed her down, pulling her waist to him to make sure she doesn't fall.

She fumbled around her pockets. Kakashi took a moment to revel in the fact that her body molded so well against his.

"Here, let me," he told her when she tried pushing the key in through the keyhole, hitting everything but.

"Thanks," she mumbled.

Her apartment was small but spacious. Sakura knew how to decorate her living space; everything was neat and organized. It was a modern apartment, but there were traditional touches to the furniture that she picked out. He couldn't help but notice the intricate floral designs that was just so _her_.

Kakashi bent down to take off her heeled sandals. The alcohol must've finally sunk in, causing her to slide down against the wall. He gripped her hips and held her before she could hit the wooden floor. Her eyelids drooped heavily and her head nodded once before she snapped herself upright.

She looked at the hands that were still on her hips and looked up at him. He unconsciously tightened his hold.

She tried to offer him a smile. "I'm okay."

"I don't believe you." He offered his own smile.

With hardly any effort, she pushed against his chest.

"Bully." She pouted.

His smirk was hidden behind his mask. But she could see the playful glint behind his lone eye.

"It's not fair." She frowned.

He raised a brow. "What's not fair?"

"When did you get so tall?"

She remembered how she used to be able to ruffle his hair and pinch his cheeks. At most, his head had reached her bosom. Now, he was toppling a good five inches over her.

"Yamato too. He's taller than me too." She leaned her forehead against his chest. "You're growing up too fast..."

Slowly, he brought her arms up and encased her in a hug. "I have to."

"You don't need to. You're still young, you don't need to grow up!" She was raising her voice, but the volume was muffled by his shirt.

"I think that's impossible, sensei." He chuckled as he tangled his hand in her hair, the long strands that were held up in a bun fell to her waist.

"Besides," he tipped her chin up to face him. "I need to catch up to you."

It was an impossible feat. She was always walking away from him. She was somewhere unreachable, somewhere he wasn't allowed. She kept walking, never once looking back at him. She never saw him.

And Kakashi desperately wanted her to.

Her emerald eyes were full of uncertainty and something he couldn't quite figure out. But the emotions disappeared as soon as she blinked.

"You still got a long way to go before you can catch up to me." She grinned at him.

"I'm almost there, sensei. You just have to stop long enough for me to reach you."

The grin fell. Her eyes were glazed over again. They were playing with words, the meaning obscured by something more casual.

"Nonsense. You could have something worth your time." She waved a dismissive hand, and Kakashi knew instantly that she wanted an end to this conversation.

He wasn't going to let her run. Not this time.

He held her wrists when she tried to walk—or stumble—away.

"There's nothing else worth my time. There's nothing else I want."

He heard her grit her teeth. Kakashi was sure that she was sobering up by now. There was strength in her resistance.

But he held her firm.

"Kakashi-kun, I'm tired. I'm gonna head to bed." She struggled out a smile. "You should also head home. Or maybe..," she shot him a wink. "You can call up that cute bartender and see if she's free."

"It's almost 2am." He deadpanned.

"And yet you're still here."

"I'm here cause I want to be."

"Kakashi!"

Sakura was frustrated. She was so frustrated that her eyes were watering. She turned her head, refusing to look at him.

He let her go. She fell to the floor, hugging her knees to her chest. He kneeled before her. She burrowed her face in her arms. Kakashi sighed, and she seemed to pull her knees closer at his action.

"Sakura."

"Don't."

She pulled her head up to face him. He saw it clearly. He saw the age in her eyes and the creases in between that weren't there when he met her ten years ago. He cupped her face and used his thumbs to wipe the unshed tears away.

He kissed her forehead, on the exact place where her byakugō seal laid. He kissed both eyes, then her nose and then both cheeks. He kissed her chin and lightly nipped it, making her giggle. He covered every inch of her face with masked kisses, deftly avoiding her lips.

Kakashi eventually pulled away and wrapped his arms around her body. She felt so much smaller than him.

"You should go."

"I should."

"You're still here."

"I am."

"Why?"

He didn't know how to answer that question. Should he use this time to confess? Should he just continue teasing her like he always had?

For all the times fellow and enemy nin called him 'intelligent,' would they still say that about him if they were to see him now?

Hell. If he didn't now, he wouldn't have a chance later.

"Sakura," her name rolled from his tongue. It felt foreign not adding the title to it, but it was a feeling he could very much get used to.

"I..." His words weren't coming out. She was waiting with determined eyes for him to continue.

 _Did she know?_

Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. Words just couldn't come out. He didn't know how to phrase his feelings for her. The fierce look disappeared and she yawned.

"I'm tired," she told him.

Sakura began to disentangle her limbs from his and stood up. She paused and turned to him again.

"You can stay here for the night. I know it doesn't look like it, but the couch is actually pretty comfortable." She ruffled his hair, something she was able to do only because he was still on the floor.

"Um..." He managed out smartly.

She pointed to the direction of what he assumed was her bedroom. "Extra blanket and pillows are in there. Come."

And she trailed away.

He did hear her tell him to follow. He did hear her offer to let him stay the night. He heard all of what she said. But it wasn't processing in his mind.

"Kakashi!" She called out from a room, the door left slightly ajar.

"Coming," he grunted as he stood up.

Oh well. He still had time.


	2. Part II

On the day Kakashi turned 22, he received a massive nosebleed.

"What. the. _fuck_ , Genma?!"

Kakashi clutched his bleeding and _most likely_ broken nose. The copy-ninja shot a glare—the one that often had his enemies fleeing—at the brown-haired man. Genma was unimpressed. Probably cause of the nose. No one took your death glares seriously when you had a giant nosebleed and tears in your eye.

"That's for stealing my girlfriend. See you, Hatake." He saluted before walking off, leaving behind a seething Kakashi.

...

"So..."

"No." He groaned.

She ignored him anyway. "Wanna tell me what happened?"

Kakashi rolled his eye as he pinched the bridge of his nose, leaning forward so that the medic could apply gauze to it. "I'm sure you already know why."

"What? I don't!" Her eyebrows raised in false innocence. He could totally see the tugging on the corner of her lips.

"The revenge of an idiot is without mercy." He stated bluntly.

At this, she was unable to hold in her laughter.

"This is why you don't steal somebody's girlfriend, Kakashi."

"I didn't. I really have no idea what Genma was talking about." He removed his hand to let Sakura mold pieces of his nose together with her chakra.

"I don't think Genma's one to take any violent actions unless he thinks it's true," she stated.

"You're taking his side?" He asked her bewilderedly.

"I'm not taking sides here, Kakashi. I'm just saying maybe something happened and you just don't know it."

"Well if I don't know about it then he shouldn't have recklessly hit me."

She gave a sigh. "Talk to him. He has his reasons for why he did it."

"I'm not talking to him. Who knows what else he'll break?" Not like Kakashi will actually let the guy touch him. He was lucky that first time.

The silver-haired man had been walking with his nose deep into the new book he bought ( _Icha Icha_ by the famous Jiraiya-san) when Genma waved him over. The two briefly exchanged pleasantries before Genma landed that surprise attack on his face.

"Kakashi." Sakura scolded.

He pouted at her tone. "Fine. But if something happens to me, you're in charge of piecing me back together, sensei."

The medic simply shrugged. "I do that regardless. And stop calling me 'sensei.' You're already a jōnin."

She placed her tools back into a small, white kit. She wrote a few things on a piece of paper and placed it inside a red folder before handing it over to Kakashi.

"Discharge papers. Give them to the front desk." She informed him.

"Thanks, sensei—" She shot him a glare. "—er, I mean, _thanks_." He corrected.

"You're welcome, Kakashi. Now go and talk to you-know-who." She waved her hand.

As he was turning the knob, she stopped him.

"Oh, Kakashi?"

He turned his head. "Yes?"

Her hand was perched on her upturned palm. She regarded him with a gentle smile, her jade eyes twinkling.

"Happy birthday."

* * *

"Well, I'll be damned."

Genma slammed the shot glass onto the table. Kakashi watched as he leaned his cheek into his hand.

"She was cheating on me with an _old_ geezer." He mumbled under his breath.

Kakashi found the brown-haired man sitting at a table with his other friends in the corner bar later that evening. Sarutobi Asuma and Yūhi Kurenai were trying to talk to the man while Guy went on about how wonderful his sensei was to Yamato. Kakashi was surprised to find his fellow teammate there, but he remembered that everyone _except_ him had a social life. He felt a small betrayal on Yamato's part, but quickly dismissed the silly feeling.

 _They all wished him a 'happy birthday' (Guy and Yamato had already seen him that morning but said it again) and took turns buying rounds of drinks to celebrate. He had a feeling Genma had forgotten since the man didn't say anything earlier when he broke his nose. Kakashi subconsciously touched the fragile organ._

 _Genma apparently caught the quick movement. "Still sore?"_

 _"Yep," Kakashi stated bitterly. A smug look appeared on the bastard's face._

 _Kurenai shook her head. "Genma. I think you should apologize."_

 _"_ He _should apologize for stealing my girl."_

 _"I didn't steal anyone's_ anything _."_

 _"I saw you with my own eyes!"_

 _"Then your vision's not very reliable. Have you ever thought about getting glasses?"_

 _"Stop it, you two." Asuma grunted._

 _"It's not very admirable to fight amongst your peers." Guy frowned._

 _"And 'sides, Kakashi-senpai didn't steal your girlfriend, Genma." Yamato dug through his vest's pocket._

 _The man withdrew an envelop and slid it across the table to Genma. He slowly opened it, frowning at Yamato. Guy and Asuma, too curious to stay still in their seats, craned their necks to see the photos Genma had just pulled out. It took him a few seconds before he said anything._

 _"Well, I'll be damned."_

And here they were.

Kakashi silently brought his sake glass to his unmasked lips (they were too focused on Genma and the photos to pay attention to him). He pulled the navy cloth back up, a smirk pulled at his lips.

"No wonder you thought it was Kakashi. The back looks exactly like him." Asuma noted.

"Only his hair's a bit shorter," Kurenai said as she leaned onto her boyfriend's arm to get a better look.

Genma turned to Yamato. "Where'd you get these?"

"Someone in ANBU gave them to me and told me to pass it onto you. He briefly told me the situation before disappearing. I figured now was the best time to hand them over." Yamato explained as he drank from his glass.

"Looks like somebody's looking out for you, Kakashi."

Said man shrugged at the woman's comment. "I didn't even know what was going on," he said, giving Genma a pointed look.

Genma averted his eyes.

"Genma..." Asuma nudged.

"Hmph." Before he said anything else, he downed another shot glass. "Kakashi..."

The silver-haired man raised one visible eyebrow. "Yes?"

"I'm sorry."

He crinkled his eye. "Now was that so hard?"

"Shut up, will ya?" Genma sighed.

"Yosh!" Guy clapped his hands. "Now that the storm is over, what do you say to a drinking contest?! Loser does twenty laps around Konoha in nothing but their knickers."

Around them, patrons turned to the loud groans from the group of jōnin.

...

"Wait, Kakashi-senpai!"

Kakashi lazily turned around and saw Yamato running up to him.

The group was spared of Guy's ridiculous challenge after Kurenai sneakily used a genjutsu to put him to sleep. It didn't last long, but the method was very effective. When he came to, Asuma and Genma convinced the groggy man that he was the first one to pass out from the amount of drinks they ingested. Kakashi felt a little guilty lying to his so-proclaimed rival, but the feeling of relief that he wouldn't have to run around Konoha sans-everything but his underwear squashed whatever guilt seemed to rise.

"Yamato." He nodded in greeting. "I thought you were staying with them for a little longer."

"Ah, no. I think I've had enough for the night." Kakashi pocketed the orange book when he noticed his teammate eyeing it curiously. Yamato's eyes snapped back to his masked face.

"Should we go for a walk?" He was sure the man wanted to tell him something.

"Hai!"

They walked in their usual silence. Normally, Yamato would point out certain things along the way, but this time he hadn't said a word. Not until they reached the intersection of their apartments.

"You know there wasn't really a need to tell an ANBU member to find evidence for something as trivial as Genma's girlfriend cheating on him." Yamato told him.

"I had the same thought. But it worked well in my favor and Genma learned the truth. I won't question a good deed."

"Not when it benefits you, right, senpai?"

"Of course." Kakashi smiled.

"Then you should go thank that person."

"Hm?" He was confused now. Even if he wanted to thank the person who unknowingly helped him out, he wouldn't know who they were.

Yamato stuffed his hands inside his pockets and looked up at the dark sky. "Don't worry. You'll find her inside her office at the hospital."

Only when Yamato left did the words click inside Kakashi's head.

* * *

"I'm coming!"

When Sakura opened her door, she didn't expect to see Kakashi at the doorway with a bag of groceries in his hand.

"Kakashi?" She questioned when he walked over to her kitchen counter and pulled out the items he bought. She realized then that he had bought ingredients for a cake.

"I like vanilla." He told her plainly and simply. Sakura folded her arms across her chest, not moving.

"I also don't like a lot of frosting. But I don't mind the little candies that people usually sprinkle." He continued to talk, telling her what he liked and didn't like on a cake. She watched him amusedly before stepping over to where he was lining up the baking materials.

"Are you telling me to bake you a cake, Kakashi?"

He stopped and looked at her. "Yes."

She chuckled into her hand. "I can't believe I had such a rude student under me."

He blushed.

"It's nearly eleven at night. I'm tired from my hospital shift." She yawned, and the silver-haired man immediately regretted coming over.

Of course she was tired. Why was he so inconsiderate? He had been so caught up in wanting to celebrate his birthday—or whatever was left of it—with her, forgetting all about how much she worked. When Yamato told him that it was her that helped clear his name, he didn't know what to think. He knew he had to see her and it couldn't have waited until the next morning.

"Sorry... I'll pack these up—"

"I didn't say I wouldn't make it." She pulled his arm to stop him.

The older woman tied her long hair into a low ponytail. She slid the cabinet drawer open to reveal her baking utensils. Sakura smiled solemnly to herself. She hadn't used them in such a long time. She didn't know how long it had been since she last baked. She hadn't touched any of the utensils in years.

"Sens—senpai?" Kakashi corrected himself.

"Mmm?" She inquired, never once looking up from the drawer.

"Um. You really don't have to." He knew she was thinking about something. He had noticed the look on her face when she opened the kitchen drawer. He noticed the strange way her lips turned upwards and the strange way her green eyes glazed over. It pulled on his heart strings.

That was the very same look he fell in love with.

She slowly blinked and shook her head. With one hand planted on her hip, she twirled to look at him.

"I said I was going to make it, didn't I?"

Her haughty tone made him want to tease her. "Well, technically you never _said_ that."

"Kakashi..." Her tone deadly.

He shut up immediately.

The silver-haired man watched as his ex-sensei worked her way around the small kitchen space. His eyes were beginning to droop in tiredness. Between getting decked by Genma and drinking with his buddies, Kakashi had little to no energy left.

He didn't know when he passed out, but when he opened his eyes he saw Sakura kneeling next to where he sat on her couch. The sweet aroma inundated his senses. He knew that it wasn't so much as the cake but rather the scent of her shampoo that was bothering him.

"Hey there, sleepy-head," she said in an almost-whisper. She didn't give him time to think before she reached for his hand and pulled him towards the kitchen.

Sakura passed him an icing tube. "Squeeze as much as you want. I'll sprinkle the candies on top." He took it hesitantly while rubbing his sole visible eye with his hand. He was still a little groggy from his short nap.

"Um..." Kakashi mumbled something under his breath.

"What?" She couldn't quite hear him.

"I...want you to write it..." He repeated shyly. She had prettier handwriting. It wouldn't have been special if he was the one to write on his own birthday cake.

"Switch with me." She smiled as she gave him the can of sugar candies.

She was mindful of the amount of frosting she was squeezing. The entire cake was already covered with a _very_ thin layer of icing. In neat handwriting, she wrote the words, 'Happy birthday, Kakashi-kun.' The silver-haired man frowned at the suffix that was used.

"That makes me feel young."

"You _are_ young." She continued drawing tiny flowers along the edges.

"I'm already _twenty-two_." He informed her.

"And at the peak of youth! Your turn."

Kakashi thought it was an easy job. How hard was it to sprinkle candy on top of a cake? Only when his hand slipped and he accidentally poured half the contents of the can did he realize that he was not made to do such simple tasks.

"I didn't think you like them that much, Kakashi." Sakura snickered.

"Shut up, senpai."

The funny feeling in his stomach grew as he watched her place the candles on the cake. When she turned off the lights and the only way he could see her face was with the help of the flames from the candles she was lighting, his heart couldn't seem to stop pounding. When she started singing that silly birthday song, he broke into the biggest grin ever.

She was absolutely breathtaking.

As she finished the song, he rounded the counter and stood next to her.

"... _to you_ ~ Kakashi! Blow out the—"

He hooked his finger on his mask and dragged it down. Sakura didn't have time to marvel at his features before he blew out the candles, leaving the both of them lost in the darkness.

She fumbled in the dark for a split second before Kakashi's arms came around and steadied her. Her words of gratitude were swallowed by the lips that pressed against her own. She froze up, too stunned to move. She couldn't seem to conjure any thoughts at the moment.

Neither could Kakashi. He dreamt about kissing her for years. He would imagine all sorts of scenarios, ranging from innocent to scenes that would be found in the _Icha Icha_ series. He was willing to wait until she reciprocated any of his feelings. But seeing her tonight, seeing her willingly spoil him even in her exhausted state, made his emotions flare.

He felt her hands slowly reach for his face. Her touch was uncertain. She rubbed a thumb across his cheek and touched her fingers to his forehead protector. When he felt her pull away, he grabbed her hand and placed it on his chest. He broke the kiss, searching for her eyes in the dark. He saw the green glint and knew she was looking at him.

"I can't put it into words." He pressed her hand tighter to his chest, hoping she could feel how fast his heart was beating.

He hoped she could tell that it was her fault.

"I can't find the words to tell you how I feel." He continued. "Because 'I love you' just isn't enough."

He heard a small gasp escape her lips.

"Sakura." He said her name, in hopes that she understood.

'I love you' just wasn't enough. When words failed, he turned to actions.

"I admire you." He kissed her cheeks. "I think you're amazing." He kissed her forehead. "You're the most stubborn woman I have ever met."

"Wha—?!" Her words were cut off by a quick kiss to the lips.

"I love you," he told her. She went rigid.

"Kakashi... I can't—"

"You can."

"I _can't_. The last person I loved—he, he disappeared." She was starting to grow frantic.

"I won't go anywhere."

She pulled away then.

"I can't love you."

If it were possible, he was sure he could hear his heart—whatever was left of it—break. It wasn't as though he hadn't thought of the possibility of her rejecting him. It was just that he wasn't prepared for the way his stomach had dropped.

"You can't or you won't?"

When she answered, it was the most painful thing.

"How can you love somebody when your heart belongs to someone else?"

* * *

Kakashi didn't know how many weeks had passed since the night of his birthday. He didn't know how many missions he took to keep himself occupied and distracted from the thoughts that seemed to haunt him every time he laid his head down. When Yamato questioned his behavior, Kakashi was able to pass it off. When Naruto noticed his ex-student's flippant attitude, the man reprimanded the copy-cat ninja but didn't really push the subject. The last time he tried to pry something out of Kakashi, Naruto ended up with a chidori burn on his stomach.

In that amount of time, he hadn't seen Sakura once. He hadn't visited her office. He hadn't dropped by after hours to lounge around in her apartment. When he spotted her in the streets, he disappeared before they could cross paths. If she noticed, she hadn't said a thing. At times, Kakashi would catch glimpses of her pink head when he hung around rooftops and treetops. She was the same, if not a little robotic.

He hated that the lack of his presence didn't seem to bother her.

Hell, if she wanted to pretend that he didn't exist, he was going to remind her of reality.

He would drop by two nights from today. He would come back from his mission and tell her again. He would remind her that he was _very much_ alive.

Too bad the world seemed to be against him.

* * *

"Are you out of your mind?"

The first thing she said to him after almost two months of not seeing him was that.

"What were you _thinking_? Charging in like that without Naruto's help?"

He didn't respond. But she didn't need him to.

"You even left behind Yamato in your fit of insanity! What happened to 'those who abandon their friends are scum'?!"

He gritted his teeth. "I didn't abandon him."

"Then what the hell were you thinking running off like that?" She slammed her hand on his bed.

"I was thinking of killing the enemy!"

"At the cost of your life?!"

Everything was quiet in his room. His injuries had been grave, but after a lot of convincing—and complaining—he was finally discharged. But he was ordered by Tsunade-sama to stay in bed for the next two weeks. He was on leave and Kakashi wondered how badly he would be punished for stashing all of the Hokage's sake in a place where no one knew. But then he wondered if death at the hands of a sober and angry Tsunade was worth it.

Her features softened. "I'm sorry... I shouldn't have to yell at you." She took a deep breath. "It's just...I-I can't lose someone else."

Her unshed tears made her green eyes sparkle. Kakashi was fighting an internal battle, stuck between wiping away those dewdrops or watching how lovely they made her.

"What am I to you, senpai?" He had to ask.

Seemingly caught off-guard by his question, she answered, "A...friend."

"Is that all?"

He started to remember what Ino-senpai told him when he passed by her and her teammates at Ichiraku's. Sakura had been asking about him. Albeit, she asked more about his health and his missions, but he knew it was her way of wondering how he was doing and why he hadn't been in the village for more than a day. Ino scolded him, asking why he wasn't dropping in to let his old sensei know that he was still alive and shamelessly reading his smut around town.

His response was a wave of his hand and a quick walk before she could bite his head off further. If he thought Sakura was hard to handle, Ino was on a different scale.

"You're a friend. A comrade and my student."

"I'm asking what I am to you, not the labels you feel are appropriate to place on me." Kakashi sighed.

"I...you're..." She couldn't think of what to say. She looked at him with widened and confused eyes.

 _Why does she look so betrayed?_

"Sakura." She flinched when he called her name.

"You're someone extremely important to me..." She whispered.

"Just that?" He asked her in a voice as low as hers.

She nodded. She knew what he was talking about. She knew he knew that there was something else she wasn't telling him.

"He died."

His expression didn't change. The tears that threatened to fall glistened around the corners of her eyes. He was impressed that she hadn't let even one drop. The strange urge to lick them overwhelmed him, but in his condition, Kakashi could barely move a limb.

"He was the first man that I fell in love with. He was the first man that I dedicated my everything to." She wiped angrily at her eyes. "He was a douchebag—Naruto's words, not mine. But I still fell for him." She laughed bitterly.

He gritted his teeth. He wasn't sure why she was telling him this. Especially not when she was hurting.

"He was an asshole. But he went through a lot and it broke him. I'm not saying that gave him an excuse to act the way he did!" She raised her hands up when Kakashi gave her a look. He imagined his ex-mentor Naruto and how the man was a shining ray of light, even if he had the darkest past and the heaviest burden.

As if she could've read his thoughts, she smiled. "He wasn't like Naruto. He wasn't like him in any way possible...but their bond was unbreakable."

She told him how Naruto managed to annoy this man more than Sakura, herself. She spoke of him with sad eyes; told him how much she loved him with a regretful gleam; and explained that in the end, he loved her back but didn't know how to give her the love she needed and deserved. Kakashi knew she was clueless of what her emotions were doing cause at this point she was crying. Her tears wet the side of his bed, and he kept his eyes trained on the tiny, wet splotches that covered his mattress.

It was Sasuke Uchiha. Kakashi held his breath when he heard the last name.

 _Uchiha_.

Of course he heard of the ninja. None of the things he heard were particularly good. Running away from Konoha, turning rogue and threatening to burn the village weren't things to put on one's resume. Of course, when these things happened, Kakashi wasn't alive to witness them. He had heard about the Uchiha massacre. Thankfully, Obito was spared because his parents were away on business in Suna, leading to everyone believing Sasuke was the last survivor.

Sadly, Kakashi's friend still died young.

Much like Obito, Sasuke died on a mission. Both Sakura and Naruto didn't believe the news at first. When his forehead protector was brought back, they still had hopes the ninja was just missing. But when his body was brought back two days after his forehead protector, hell broke loose. Sakura broke down completely and Naruto would've went rampant, wanting to search for his best friend's murderer, if Jiraiya and Tsunade didn't stop him.

Kakashi remembered seeing the blond stalk around the village, some days with anger emanating from his being, other days with nothing reflected in his eyes. He remembered the day he was assigned to Uzumaki Naruto's genin team. Life had returned to those blue eyes and the man boisterously introduced himself to the new faces.

He then remembered the day he first met Haruno Sakura. Their team had been at the training grounds when Naruto suddenly stopped and dashed away from a spar with Obito. When they looked to where he had gone off, the first thing Kakashi noticed was pink. The second thing he noticed were the person's long legs. As she walked closer, he noticed two beautiful emerald orbs. He hadn't noticed he'd been staring until Rin waved a hand in front of his face.

They went back to their spar, Obito eventually joining them since his partner was preoccupied. His focus wasn't completely on their training, and his eyes kept darting back and forth to the pink-haired kunoichi talking to his sensei. Kakashi saw her hand Naruto a lunchbox before turning to where he was. She gave a tiny wave and left.

"Did you ever love Naruto?"

Her mouth dropped open before he had the chance to retract his question.

"Well?" He was being demanding, but he wanted answers to questions he's been asking himself.

"Yes. And I still do."

A flash of red crossed his vision before he blinked it away. Was that the man that had her heart? If it were true, could he be so selfish as to take her away from his ex-sensei who he knew loved her just as much, if not more?

"But it's not the love you think." She continued.

Kakashi looked at her, partially confused and partially asking her to continue. Instead, she shook her head and laid her hand on his.

"He's not the one that has my heart."

"Then who does? The Uchiha?"

A flash of pain crossed her features.

"You need to rest. I'll check up on you tomorrow morning."

He didn't want her to go. But in his condition, there was no way he could've stopped her. He knew once she decided something, it would be hard to change her mind.

Sakura smoothed her black skirt as she stood up. "Be a good boy and rest, will you?"

"...I'm not a boy." He mumbled. She chuckled in response.

Not until she had closed his door did she whisper to herself.

"I know..."

* * *

The first thing he did was head to the library. He breezed past the various jōnin and chūnin scanning through books and scrolls. He paid no mind to some of the 'hello's and nods aimed at him.

A silver and navy blur could be seen as he quickened his steps at the deepest sections of the spacious library.

 _Target locked._

Kakashi reached a gloved hand out and tugged on the unsuspecting arm. A chakra-laden fist threatened to connect to his jaw if he hadn't caught it by the wrist. He pushed his weight onto the slender body in front of him and fisted the long strands of hair that hung loose.

Without warning, he pressed his masked lips to the rosy-pink ones in front of him. A small whimper escaped his companion's throat before he felt nails digging into his bicep. He released her mouth, pulled down his mask and resumed his attack. His hand made its way to the small of her back and pulled her body flushed against his. He sang at the contact. To his shocked pleasure, she did too.

Kakashi trailed his tongue along her bottom lip, begging for entrance. When she parted her mouth—with surprisingly no hesitation—he slipped in. His tongue explored her sweetness and intertwined with hers. His senses were becoming numb. She was a drug that he fell victim to and _damn_.

He did not care one bit that he was getting addicted.

He bit and sucked on her bottom lip. His action elicited a groan from her. He watched as her eyes opened to reveal the color that he loved so much.

Her green eyes were hazy with lust. The heat in his stomach was growing the longer he stared into them.

"Ino-senpai told me," he said.

"She can't ever keep a secret, can she?"

"I'm glad she can't," he whispered into her ear. He felt her shaking at the hot breath of air he had let out.

Just moments ago, he had ran into Ino and her team. They had just came back from a mission when Kakashi had the misfortune of running into the boisterous blonde (no, not Naruto).

 _"Kakashi!"_

 _"Hello, Ino-senpai."_

 _"You baka!"_

 _He didn't know why, but he didn't stop her fist from connecting with his head._

 _"You stupid, stupid boy!"_

 _He frowned as he rubbed the sore spot. Why did everyone insist on calling him a boy? He was an adult, for Kami's sake!_

 _"You know, for a genius, you're pretty slow." She folded her arms across her chest._

 _Kakashi gave a glance towards Asuma, but the man just shrugged. It was obvious he didn't want to get into whatever was happening._

 _"Why aren't you trying harder?!"_

 _Her questioned left him perturbed. If it was about a mission, he was ready to tell her that he had a 99% success rate._

 _"I'm not talking about missions, Kakashi." It was like she was reading his mind. "I'm talking about Sakura."_

 _His posture straightened at the name of his ex-sensei. He hadn't seen or spoken to the pink-haired medic since that day at the hospital. He wasn't awake when she went to check up on him the next morning. He suspected she preferred it that way. It wasn't that he didn't try, it was more that she tried harder to avoid him._

 _That had been two weeks ago._

 _Instead of retorting to the irate blonde, he listened to her. Kakashi didn't want to make a scene by arguing back with the older woman. He also felt like he deserved whatever it was that she was berating him for._

 _"You haven't tried hard enough, have you?"_

 _Well, he was planning on not talking back. But this was becoming increasingly hard._

 _"With all due respect, Ino-senpai..." he started. He placed his hands inside his pockets. "You don't know how hard I've tried."_

 _Something in his expression made those teal eyes softened. She waved a hand at her team to dismiss them. Asuma shot one last glance at his silver-haired friend before leaping off after his teammates. Ino gestured for Kakashi to follow her, and he did albeit a little unwillingly._

 _They sat down and ordered two cups of tea at her favorite tea house. If Kakashi remembered correctly, this was Sakura's favorite tea house also. He supposed that best friends shared similar tastes and likes._

 _Kami knows why when those two women almost always argued with each other._

 _Ino waited for him to take a sip from his cup before speaking._

 _"Have you told her how you felt?"_

 _He stared into the liquid content of his cup. "Yes."_

 _He heard her sigh. "That stubborn woman..."_

 _He didn't say anything, but she knew that he agreed with her statement. The pink-haired woman's stubbornness and hotheadedness matched that of her mentor's. Tsunade-sama had always scared him. Now he understood why Sakura scared him at times too._

 _Why were beautiful women so damn scary?_

 _"Listen up, Kakashi." The blonde leaned forward and fixed her intense gaze onto him. "You need to attack. Go on the offense. You need to break her barrier because she's had it up for far too long."_

 _Kakashi wasn't sure why he was having this conversation with her. He had only been on a few missions with Ino, but even then he never held a conversation with her. The only time he could recall them ever talking was when she told him about Uchiha Sasuke's death anniversary. He just couldn't find it in him to actually walk away. "I don't think she wants those barriers down, Ino-senpai."_

 _Ino gave him a sad smile before drinking from her own cup. "If you've seen what she's seen, would you let yours down easily either?"_

 _He had no response, because he understood perfectly. Flashes of Obito and Rin flew by inside his head._

 _"She loves someone else." The words were spatted out as though they were poison._

 _"Is that what she told you?" Her eyes held a certain playfulness behind them all of a sudden._

 _The smirk at his reaction was all she gave him. It was all he needed._

So no, Ino didn't really tell him. He just drew his own conclusions from what she did tell him. To confirm the assumption–and his budding hope–he had tracked her down and decided to be as forward as he could be.

Kakashi was obviously pleasantly surprised that he was right.

The silver-haired man gripped her thighs and lifted her up. He slammed her against the wall between two bookshelves. The books rattled, but he could hardly care less when the woman he'd been wanting for so long was finally responding to his advances.

Kakashi felt her wrap her toned legs around his waist and pulled him closer. He groaned as his erection pressed against her hot core. He was thankful that she always wore a skirt. That made things a lot easier for him.

Sakura shuddered as she felt something hard press against her. It had been far too long since she felt this excited and any stimulation from her silver-haired ex-student was sending her over the edge.

His tongue danced with hers as he grind his hips into her. He felt her shiver and wrapped her arms tighter around his neck. His lips trailed to her neck and he licked her skin before sucking on the tender flesh.

"Kaka—" she groaned out his name in broken syllables.

"Fuck," he murmured into the side of her neck. She felt so good. The more she rubbed against him, the hotter his body became.

He kissed her again. Kakashi gripped her ass before trailing one hand underneath her skirt. His fingers found the edges of her lacy panties. He paused to appreciate them before tugging hard. She yelped into his mouth as the fabric came undone and broken, now hanging off one leg. She gave him a disapproving frown.

"Those were expensive," she complained.

"I'll buy you new ones." And she seem placated by his words. He wasn't lying; the idea of buying her new underwear turned him on. He was wondering if he could get her to wear something skimpy he saw earlier in the week when he was window shopping with Yamato.

"I'll hold you to that," she whispered against his lips before pressing hers to his again.

Sakura gasped when she felt a hand rub against her sex. An electrifying shock shot through her body as Kakashi continued to run his fingers up and down her folds.

"Fuck, Sakura." He shuddered. "You're so wet."

She whimpered when he placed one finger in. Slowly, he started to pump her. She moaned into his ear when he entered another digit. The wet sounds of him fingering her made her core tighten even more. She watched as his eye darkened even further from watching her unravel from just his hand. Kakashi curled his fingers, hoping to hit her sweet spot. It did the trick, within the next seconds her pupils dilated and her hands pulled at his hair. She was begging for release and he would give it to her. He rubbed her clit in a circular motion, sending her off the edge. The knot in her stomach began to uncoil as she squeezed her eyes shut, all of a sudden too overwhelmed by the sensations she was feeling.

When she finally opened her eyes and blinked the white spots away, she noticed that they were no longer in the library. She glanced around to see that she was now laying on a bed. A picture of Team 7 and Naruto's early genin team perched on the table next to the bed.

Sakura suddenly felt chills. She glanced in the direction she felt the feeling from and immediately shuddered when her eyes met Kakashi's mismatched ones. He looked at her predatorily and lustfully. Sakura clenched her thighs together in hopes of taming the heat once again building in her lower stomach. He saw the movement and his eyes seemed to narrow further.

It took her a moment to notice that the man was shirtless. Her eyes trailed greedily over his toned abs and muscles. Kami, he was going to be the death of her. Kakashi moved to hover over her on the bed. Sakura suddenly felt quite small, her former student's body now loomed over her and was able to encase her own petite form fully.

He gave her a small smile, and she was immediately comforted by the eyes that she knew so well. Sakura pulled him down and met his lips with hers. She shivered when she felt him pressed against her once again. He slowly ground his hips against hers, eliciting a moan from the back of her throat. He reciprocated with a groan of his own.

He pulled down her skirt and snapped the remaining fabric of her underwear. She hastily unbuckled his belt and pulled down the zipper of his pants. He groaned when she cupped him through the fabric of his boxer-briefs. Slowly, she began to move her hand. Kakashi shut his eyes at the pleasure that shot down his spine. She wasn't even touching him directly, yet he wanted to cum right then and there.

He pushed up her shirt and unclasped her bra. Kakashi paused to appreciate the view before taking one of her perky nipples into his mouth. The action caused her to grip him a little harder, and he had to pull away before he could finish.

"Wait—I won't last if..." he stopped speaking. A hiss escaped when he felt her hands taking him out of the restrains of his underwear and gripped him directly. He froze, the pleasure shot through his body and he was afraid that if he moved, he would be finished. The glimmer in her green eyes told him she knew. The mind was trying to get him to finish.

He couldn't have that. He wanted to be inside of her when he did.

So instead of letting her pump him to his blissful death, he flipped her over and pulled her by her hips. She squealed as her face hit the pillow and her ass hung in the air. Kakashi inserted his digit without warning, smiling smugly at the way she shuddered from his finger. He inserted another and started moving quickly. By the way she was shaking, he could tell Sakura was about to reach her climax.

"Kakashi..." she moaned out. "Please, Kaka—ah!"

He inserted another finger into her, marveling at how wet and ready she was for him. "What is it, Sakura?" he asked huskily. He needed her to say it. He wanted to hear the words tumble from her mouth.

"I need—" she bit her lip.

Kakashi curled his fingers and she screamed in ecstasy. "What is it that you need?"

"I need you!" she screamed into the pillow.

"You need me? What part of me?"

He had to chuckle when she turned around and gave him a cold glare. All it did was turn him on even more.

"I ..." she muffled into his pillow. The blush on her face now spread to her neck. Kakashi tangled his free hand into her hair and pulled.

"I couldn't hear you."

She bit her lip, swelling them even more than they already were. His fingers almost left her completely and she cried out.

"I need your dick!"

He needed to hear nothing else before he twirled her again on the bed. He watched her widening green eyes as he plunged himself deep into her. Kakashi felt his eyes roll to the back of his head. He couldn't move, not when he was so enveloped in her warmth. For a moment, he listened to his and his companion's unsteady breathing. When he managed to open his eyes, he found Sakura's green ones looking up at him. He saw unadulterated lust and pure desire behind those hazy eyes.

When Kakashi was sure she had adjusted to his length, he pulled out. She bit her bottom lip when he pushed back in. He kept the pace agonizingly slow, to feel her and to memorize every detail of her expression as he moved inside of her. He held both arms on either side of her head, steadying himself as he watched and ingrained the sight of them joining.

Sakura watched as his facial features became more tense. He was trying to hold himself back but Sakura was quickly becoming impatient. She needed him and she needed him _now_. She needed him to fuck her until she couldn't walk the next morning.

"Kakashi." He turned at the sound of his name. She wouldn't be able to take this any longer. With two arms on his shoulders, she pushed him back. Where she got her sudden nerve from, she didn't know.

Oh. Probably from not getting laid in years.

"Sa—what're you—" he gasped at their new position. She straddled him with her legs. Sakura steadied herself with her palms on his bare chest. She pulled her hips up, so that only the tip of his penis was in. She watched him as she quickly plunged herself down, letting out a shuddered sigh as she did so. She pulled out again and repeated the motion.

Kakashi gripped her waist and dug his nails into her skin. He watched as her pink hair bobbed up and down when she moved. Heat was building up fast and he wasn't sure how long he could hold on when she was bouncing on top of him like that. He met her movement with his own thrusts, hitting her deep and eliciting a deep moan from the woman. The sound of their skin slapping together was music to his ears.

She could feel herself reaching her peak. Sakura closed her eyes and fumbled in the dark until Kakashi grabbed her hands. That was all she needed: his warmth and the safe feeling he gave her, to finally push her over the edge.

Kakashi pulled her down for a deep kiss. He kept moving and relished in the way her breasts felt as they rubbed against his chest. Kisses became sloppy as their breaths grew more ragged. She looked at him, and he swore he had never seen a more brilliant shade of green in his life.

"Come with me, Sakura."

His hot breath fanned her ear and she shuddered. With a few more thrusts, she cried out. A gasp tore through him as he felt her walls clench down on his member. He pounded into her one more time before he succumbed to his own climax. He gripped her hips, hard enough to leave hand marks and bruise her creamy skin. She shivered when she felt his member pulse inside of her. Kakashi continued to grind into the petite woman as they rode out their orgasms.

When they were done, Sakura laid on top of him breathing softly. He listened to her steady breaths before gently sliding out of her and rolling her onto the mattress. She was probably exhausted lately, having to pull too many shifts at the hospital and training the new team of field medics. Kakashi brushed away a damp strand of pink hair from her face and pulled his blanket over her. He slid off the bed, but before he could walk away, a hand grabbed onto him.

"Where are you going?" She was staring up at him with large eyes. He could see the fear and uncertainty swimming in them. But the emotions left as quickly as his reply came.

"The bathroom."

Embarrassed, she blushed and pulled her hand away. He reached down to kiss her forehead before retreating to the bathroom. He shut the door behind him and leaned against the wooden frame. Kakashi ran a trembling hand through his silver mane and let out a sigh. Was it real? Was it a genjutsu? It felt real. It felt more real than he ever thought it could feel. He allowed himself a few more minutes of composure before deciding that he was done overthinking.

When he returned to the bedroom, he looked at her sleeping form. Her back was turned to him and the blanket was hanging around her hips. He could see all the dips and curves of her body — the very body that he spent the last hour exploring.

Sakura stirred just as his knee hit the mattress. Kakashi settled himself closer to her and pulled her body flushed to his. He kissed her shoulder before nuzzling into her neck. He smiled when she giggled.

"I love you," he whispered before he could stop himself.

She froze in his arms and he was afraid he had said the wrong thing and ruined everything. But when she intertwined her fingers with his and brought it to her lips to kiss each fingertip before kissing his palm, he felt the pressure lift from his heart.

"I love you too."

He couldn't believe his ears. He stayed still, afraid that if he were to move even a finger, she would disappear and everything would turned out to have been a dream.

"Say it again," he told her.

And she did. "I love you, Kakashi."

Sakura turned around to face him. She cupped both of his cheeks and kissed him gently. "I'm real. This is real." She ran a thumb across his face. He didn't realized he was crying until she wiped away a tear. "I love you," she repeated.

"I thought you loved someone else."

"I do. But that doesn't mean I don't love you too." She waited for him to process what she had just said. She waited until he gave her a look that said he understood.

He did.

He knew that it would be hard to forget your first. He knew that because it was Sakura and because she loved wholeheartedly, it would be a while before she was able to love someone else like she did her last. He was patient enough to wait for her, to wait until she was able to open up to him and let him in. He figured Ino was right, he had to push her harder because if he didn't, they wouldn't have been here.

"It took me a while to realize, and it took me even longer to admit it," she told him as she traced his jawline delicately with her fingers. "I was afraid. I was afraid that if I fell for you, I would lose you too. I was selfish because I didn't want to experience something so painful as loving someone, waiting for someone to come back knowing that each mission they take could be their last. I was afraid... because I love you."

He wasn't sure how long he had waited for her to say those three words to him. He wasn't sure how much he needed to hear them from her until now. He wrapped the blanket around them and she wrapped her arms around his body, enveloping him with her warmth. He started to doze off when he suddenly remembered.

"What am I gonna say to Naruto-senpai?"

He heard her chuckle before patting his chest.

"Good luck with training tomorrow."

Kakashi sighed. He decided he would worry about the blond's reaction when tomorrow comes. For now, all he wanted to do was fall asleep with the petal-haired woman in his arms.

Everything else be damned.


End file.
